Users Are Not Happy with GPT-5 and Call It Horrible

OpenAI’s highly anticipated GPT-5 has just launched, but initial reactions from users are far from enthusiastic. In fact, many are calling it “horrible” just hours after its debut.

The Grand Unveiling and User Backlash
During a one-hour livestream, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman showcased GPT-5, touting it as a “PhD-level” upgrade with enhanced reasoning, multi-step processing, and personalization features. It was positioned as a significant leap forward in AI capabilities. However, this optimism quickly soured. Within hours of the reveal, social media, particularly Reddit, erupted with criticism. A thread titled “GPT-5 is horrible” rapidly amassed thousands of upvotes and comments, with many users expressing deep dissatisfaction and even pleading for the return of older models like GPT-4.

Why Are Users So Upset?
The core complaints center around a perceived decline in response quality and slower output speeds. Even paid subscribers are facing new limitations. GPT-5’s much-hyped “Thinking” mode, designed for complex reasoning, is capped at a mere 200 messages per week for ChatGPT Plus users. Furthermore, Plus subscribers now have fewer model choices, as OpenAI has consolidated offerings under GPT-5, claiming it can automatically adjust its reasoning depth. Users are likening this move to “shrinkflation,” arguing that while GPT-5 might score higher on internal benchmarks, its practical usability feels diminished. A major point of frustration is the removal of previous, more reliable models instead of offering them alongside the new upgrade.

Was the Hype Too High?
The intense criticism follows a significant marketing build-up from OpenAI. Sam Altman himself hinted at a game-changing innovation with dramatic, Star Wars-inspired social media posts. While GPT-5 does show measurable performance improvements in internal testing, many users feel the update is incremental rather than revolutionary, especially when compared to the groundbreaking impact of ChatGPT’s initial release in 2022. It appears that for a significant portion of the user base, GPT-5 simply hasn’t lived up to the towering expectations set for it.